Contemplating
by madeinfrance
Summary: "'You're afraid it will come true,' the Amazon states. Bruce doesn't have to ask to know what she's talking about."


_Bam!_

With a loud noise, the door is thrown opened so violently, Bruce is surprised it doesn't fly off entirely. Then again, he probably mesured the power of his kick to perfection.

"Daddy!"

Face going from surprised to pure joy in record, Jon runs and throws himself at his father, his small arms instantly snaking around Clark's neck, holding on as tight as he can.

Behind them, Lois releases a sigh of relief, smiling a tired but true smile as Diana comes to join her.

"I knew you'd come save us," the little boy mumbles happily in his neck. Bruce can hear Clark breathing him in as he holds his son close, hand protectively cupping the back of his head, his tensed shoulders finally relaxing.

"I'm sorry I took so long, Champ," he whispers, landing a kiss in Jon's hair. His eyes open, then, immediately focusing on Lois. She looks back at him with a grin.

"Hi, honey. Guess what happen to us?," she jokes, winning her an amused look from both the Bat and the Amazon.

"Are you - "

"I'm fine," she quickly reassures him, walking from the other end of the basement and towards them.

She meets him halfway and grips his wrist, closing the distance between them and gently soothing his worried brow with her fingers. "We're both fine, I promise."

One hand moving to Jon's back, she smirks. "Now let's go: I can hear Arthur losing his temper with those assholes in the other room already."

* * *

"I thought you were going to put young Jon to bed."

Brought back to reality, Bruce turns to see her approach, a warm cup between her hands as she comes to join him, and leans on the balustrade. Lips quirking slightly up, he looks back to the living room underneath them.

"I did: he was out five minutes after we've entered the bedroom." From the corner of his eyes, he sees her smile as well.

"Well, that's a record."

"He had a pretty rough couple of days – I'm sure his habit of chatting us up for an hour before falling asleep will be back soon enough." She chuckles.

"I'm sure."

They're silent for a moment before she speaks again. "It's not him you're worried about," she finally says, her tone more serious, her gaze fixed on them as well.

Settled on one of the couches, they're talking to Alfred and Victor, Lois' body tucked into Clark, her head on his shoulder. His arm around her, protective, as despite her will, her eyes fight to stay opened.

"I'm not worried," Bruce eventually responds. Lies, maybe. He's not even sure.

His thumb runs slow patterns on her arm as she answers to his butler, brows slightly furrowed. Next to her, Clark listens. That's where he has been, ever since they came back, where he made sure to be – next to her.

To them. Everytime Jon got out of the room, his eyes discreetly followed him, no matter the walls separating them.

"You're afraid it will come true," the Amazon states. He doesn't have to ask to know what she's talking about.

"I didn't say that."

"But you are."

 _Touché._

He doesn't waste time pretending.

"I've never seen him like that." _Not in real life_ , he doesn't add.

And he hasn't: even before the League, even back when they were trying to kill each other, or Clark was trying to stop Luthor and his atrocity. The drive behind his eyes. The anger, the despair – the rage.

The pure, barely contained rage.

The only thing restraining it, Bruce knew, his need to get them back.

"They'd taken his family, Bruce. His wife and five year-old child – he had a reason to be enraged."

"I know that," he says, sincere. Of course he does: hell, he even wanted to struggle those bastards himself. "It's just – it was the same look. The exact same one," he eventually admits, seeing no point in lying about it.

"Clark would never perpetrate the horrors you've seen in your vision," she reasons.

"I know." He didn't back then, but now that he knows him, understands the man and what he stands for, the unique and unshakable goodness that's his – Bruce does know.

And yet – _yet_ , a small part of him can't help thinking.

Yet, he could. Yet, Lois and Jon are his entire world, the one thing he loves the most, the one thing he could never live without. Yet, losing either of them would destroy him – drive him insane.

Yet, the world should be terrified, if something ever came to happen to his family.

Next to him, he feels Diana focus on their companions once more.

"I don't know how he'll react to something like that," she says quietly. "And I'll admit that beyond my own love for them, for more reasons than one, it frightens me to consider it."

Despite how unthinkable such a scenario would be, he knows that she's aware that if Clark was to ever be broken in such a way, so would Superman - with all the consequences that it would entail.

After a moment, Diana speaks again. "I guess we just have to make sure nothing ever happens to them."

Looking back down at them, Lois dragging him by the hand, his fingers intertwined with hers as they bid their good nights, Bruce nods.

"I guess we do."


End file.
